Goodbye Laredo, hello Salina?

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nksports
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Goodbye Laredo, hello Salina?

Post by nksports » Wed May 03, 2017 11:15 pm


suge night
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Post by suge night » Thu May 04, 2017 3:02 pm

The Laredo Lemurs will not operate during the 2017 season and are no longer members of the American Association, League Commissioner Miles Wolff announced on Wednesday.

This statement support my earlier post about the Lemurs not paying that renewal fee, if they had paid that money this statement would have read differently. This also is why Wichita doesn't want the Wingnuts to be part of the new stadium even though they are proven winners they can't draw enough to excite the locals, reason for that being career minor league players while needed for this model they run overboard, simply notice that the article pertaining to the Lemurs had a caption showing that teams leader hit percentage player at .290 but he had been a member of the team for six years, meaning that attendance will be low which it was.

Yep no place like the AA where a team not only replaces a former member club but without even lifting a glove can host member teams, and we know what attendance number are in the Pecos well under a 100 so going there will be glorified scrimmages yes sir the AA a model for all of independent baseball :rolleyes:

BaseballKid3
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Post by BaseballKid3 » Thu May 04, 2017 4:18 pm

The ongoing legal battle was the issue. It was a case where after the court ruling giving her control on the 28th she was more than willing and ready to foot the bill for an entire season just to have the team play. For Ms. Torres it was more than just about baseball, it was about sticking up for what was right and her baseball family and those that believed in her.

What you don't see is the fact that every time there was a ruling for Ms. Torres in court the other side simply ignored it. They basically held the ballpark hostage because the city seems to have given them that power..

The issue had NOTHING to do with Ms. Torres being able to fund the team. What the issue was that there was a battle over who should be running the team. Ms. Torres was the owner, the other 2 were there to run the stadium. They managed to find some loopholes and pull many shady things off.

The lawsuit comes because they allegedly tried to sell the team out from under Ms. Torres. Thats when the lawsuit began

This woman and her family funded this team and those 2 were essentially forced on her by the city to run the stadium. While you would think if she felt they were misappropriating and mismanaging funds she could just fire them ..... the court said different ..... and that too, in my opinion, comes because of the conflict of interest within the city etc.

Ultimately it seems that she cut funding for the team because she had to stop the bleeding which is also what you will see if you read the numerous articles and local newscasts.

A few weeks prior to the April 28th court decision giving her full control the court gave Mr. Holliman and Mr. Vilarreal 10 days to find a way to fund the 2017 season ....... they came back with NOTHING .... no way to fund it and also said in court that they their bank accounts were negative. Court finds in favor of Ms. Torres on the 28th, city council fails to put the team on the Agenda for the City Council meeting on May 1st. Without City council approving or talking about the changes that needed to be made in management structure and working something out there was only one thing that was going to happen. TIME WAS UP and she did not have another week to wait.

It sucks for employees, fans and definitely players and coaches. In the end however when this all plays out and all the FBI investigations into city corruption in Laredo also play out everyone will finally see that Ms. Torres was the LEAST of the issue with the Lemurs.
Last edited by BaseballKid3 on Thu May 04, 2017 4:44 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Post by BaseballKid3 » Thu May 04, 2017 4:27 pm

As for the Salina team ........ well ...... it's going to be very interesting to say the least. The league may wish that they made the Lemurs a road team instead of going outside the league for this. We all have read articles on the Pecos league and I think we can agree that it could be a mess.

You are also going to ask after all that I posted how do I now mention the option that the Lemurs could have been a road team ...... well even though that was mentioned and thought of as an option it actually was not because of the fact that the city owns the rights to the Lemur name and I believe it would have also been an issue with the lease agreement. Obviously there are other issues you will say because of the team not playing but there is also litigation involving that and it will all play out in court.

suge night
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Post by suge night » Thu May 04, 2017 9:11 pm

Baseballkid3, you are loyal that is one thing everyone that see this will take away, but you are also easily fooled it appears, go ahead have your crush on Torres that's fine nothing wrong with it if its your thing, wait I don't mean that in a manner of idol worship.

But the AA even with the issues would have easily kept the team in the league even under a different name for 2018 if that little renewal fee had been paid, as for the city its all about the cash remember that $350 thousand still owed, well if that cashier check had been placed on the council table they would have called an emergency meeting quicker than a politician can fake kiss the baby, you have placed a lot of if's on the table it only took one to solve this,partnerships are hard to dissolve they usually take a lot of extra cash to buyout the dic% in the room.

Seems to me Torres simply should have offered a olive branch in the form of all that expendable cash you speak of,that is if she really wanted to save the team, you would be surprised how these things play out when the losses are as big as she announced, she said the team lost 3 million over three seasons plus the $352 that will make millionaire's start to question themselves I'M simply pointing out grey areas within your defenses of which you are presenting circumstantial evidence, the material facts don't offer you much for an opening argument from a position of strength.

But so what this is a message board so stay strong and support the Lemurs/Torres all you want. :cool:
Last edited by suge night on Thu May 04, 2017 9:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

BaseballKid3
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Post by BaseballKid3 » Thu May 04, 2017 10:26 pm

$350,000 still owed?? You have NO CLUE what you are talking about!

That is a number that the 2 idiots on the other side of the lawsuit came up with thinking that it would help them save the team. She owes no one anything!

Its just frustrating as hell to listen to many people now spew **** they don't know about. I was there in the first year and a half. I know the reasons why those 2 were brought in, I know much more than I care to at this point because it makes me sick to see all the lies. Unfortunately most come from the side of the 2 jokers.

Ultimately it will come out in court.

Maybe then you will see how silly what you claim is

Adios
Last edited by BaseballKid3 on Thu May 04, 2017 10:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post by BaseballKid3 » Thu May 04, 2017 10:44 pm

This is regarding another ridiculous motion these 2 made today and also has some of what I was talking about discussed :-)
___________________________________________

The “emergency” motion filed by Messrs. Holliman and Villarreal is procedurally unsound and factually deficient. The trial court partially dissolved and modified its prior temporary orders at Ms. Torres’s request so that she could amend her corporate documents and take control of Laredo Baseball Holdings, Inc. and Laredo Baseball Investors, LLC. These actions have been taken and cannot be undone. Texas law does not allow a non-owner or minority interest owner to take control over an entity contrary to the sole or majority owner. So this emergency motion lacks legal footing.

Factually, Messrs. Holliman and Villarreal do not identify what baseball opportunities they might pursue, or when. If they choose to pursue another baseball team in another league, and seek a lease with Uni-Trade stadium, they may do so outside of the pending litigation and without Laredo Baseball Holdings, Inc. and Laredo Baseball Investors, LLC.

Ms. Torres tendered her membership in the American Association of Professional Baseball at the request of its Commissioner. The league had given her a deadline of Friday, April 28, 2107 to advise if the Lemurs would be able to play in the 2017 season. On that day, Ms. Torres’s emergency motion was granted by the 406th District Court. Ms. Torres advised the League and the City of Laredo. The League was elated that Ms. Torres and the Lemurs would participate in the upcoming season. But the City insisted that it must approve any operational plan for the Lemurs, and it had previously indicated that it would not approve a plan that did not include the defendants, Messrs. Holliman and Villarreal. We asked the City to reconsider on Friday, April 28th and Monday, May 1st. We also proved in court that it is impossible for Ms. Torres to work with Messrs. Holliman and Villarreal, and the Court agreed. The City was monitoring the litigation. We were told a meeting would be scheduled, but have seen only a press release for a meeting next week.

Because of the defendants’ past wrongful conduct, and the City’s continuing insistence to include these defendants, the season and team were lost. Ms. Torres exposed the defendants and won in court, but she could not win before City Council.

Baldemar Garcia Jr.

Board Certified, Civil Trial & Appellate Law

Texas Board of Legal Specialization

suge night
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Post by suge night » Fri May 05, 2017 4:01 am

Just the facts,
From the previous court record

Plaintiff Ariana Torres has failed to (forward) any of the (Ordered) funds or previously (Ordered) bank statements.

City Attorney April 24,2017
Clarifies it will not approve any assignments of interest to other parties nor amend.

I'm not taking your argument away but the truth is already floating around from court, and by the way the win on 4-28-17 states
court finding an imminent emergency exist as to operations of the team,in an effort to save the team and (PROVIDE) for their participation in the up coming 2017 season.
She won a modification to partially dissolve temporary orders to (immediately) implement her plan.

Just what that entailed who knows,but it appears those who looked at it didn't think it was viable, or maybe they did.

But as I said before this is a message board so don't mind my opinion what you think is all that matter ;)

Ms. Torres invested $2,600,000.00 to improve the quality of life in Laredo,” Garcia further stated. “She is now forced to take her business elsewhere. It was my privilege to represent her.”

This from her lawyer, you can only take half of what one would say with a grain of salt. so to speak they say!
Last edited by suge night on Fri May 05, 2017 4:11 am, edited 1 time in total.

BaseballKid3
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Post by BaseballKid3 » Fri May 05, 2017 2:33 pm

The first line of your response means nothing as of the ruling on the 28th.

Then you post "I'm not taking your argument away but the truth is already floating around from court, and by the way the win on 4-28-17 states
court finding an imminent emergency exist as to operations of the team,in an effort to save the team and (PROVIDE) for their participation in the up coming 2017 season.
She won a modification to partially dissolve temporary orders to (immediately) implement her plan."

Ok ..... Her plan was to amend bylaws to take away the 2-1 majority of directors that Mr. Villarreal and Holliman had over her. Take over HER TEAM and HER BUSINESS that was essentially HIJACKED from her. Plain and simply THOSE ARE THE FACTS!

The city had to approve her "plan" of changing things in the business structure so SHE would have FULL CONTROL of HER BUSINESSES and HER TEAM. Her plan could not be completed in time to save the team. Therefore when asked by the league to withdraw she did in respect of the other owners and the league. Ms. Torres alone has the money to fund the team for a season and was willing to do that knowing she could take a hit for 1 Million +. She also believed that if Holliman and Villarreal were gone she could turn things around by bringing in people that HAD A CLUE about baseball and business all together. 100% serious here, at one time Mr. Holliman, NOT JOKING, asked what the two yellow poles were for in the outfield!

Basically it did not matter what her plan was because ultimately the city attorney, Ms Hale, was set in her ways not to let anyone change anything, and to make them "WORK IT OUT".

As you and I know as of this minute the Lemurs season is over and so is their existence ...... the City, Mr. Holliman and Mr. Villareal still all think that they can salvage the season and the team can still play. The city is holding a special meeting next Monday to "explore the options"

There is nothing to explore! Game Over

nksports
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Post by nksports » Sun May 07, 2017 3:59 am

What's happening in Laredo is all water under the bridge as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure the lawsuits there are going to start flying. The commissioner and other owners are partly to blame for not being more proactive. Camps open this week and all involved are going to have to eat a giant spam sandwich over this. Salina is not a long term solution. The market is teeny (less than 50,000). The ballpark works well for small college, high school, Legion and summer college, its normal tenants, but only seats a few hundred. I noticed they hired a new manager and did not retain Laredo's players signed for this season (probably to save money). In the last five years or so, Laredo went from about 3,500 a game to about 850 last season, so something wasn't working. Wichita will know its long-term future within the month. Cleburne is off to a bad start PR wise. Grand Prairie is still on the bubble. There are a couple of northern teams drawing low, so the league will need to use this season for some soul searching.

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